ANT200 (Sept 8).docx

Introduction to the course What is archaeologyDefinition in the textbook the study of the human past through material remains with the aims of ordering and describing the events of the past and explaining their meaning Three elementsObserved material evidence o Things we can observed applies to more than just seeing apply to all senses not just visually but we can feel something for example feeling soil tasting things listening to the sounds made by different materialsUnobserved human activity o Material remain dont react just sit there There are various steps on how to do thisExplanation of human activity o Interpret and explain human activity anthropologically socially etc Observed material evidenceEmpirical something observable and materialisticObtained through excavation artifacts material items result from human activity Unobserved human activityInferential the way we link the material remai